The UK needs more than a week to give advice to our small business community

The UK needs more than a week to give advice to our small business community

What did you get out of Small Business Advice Week? You know, the one that ran between the 4th and 10th of September this year? Focused on offering small business specialist advice? That one… no?

The calendar is full of official days, weeks, fortnights and months; from pasties to pedestrians, friendship to fried chicken (we’re not joking), it seems that no product or cause is without a spot in the diary, a Twitter account and some level of PR effort in support.

And this is the problem. No matter how noble the intentions of a Small Business Advice Week it’s always going to get lost in the crowd of similar initiatives vying for the attention of the small business owner who, let’s face it, is likely to be too busy to pay much attention to an event such as this.

That’s not to say that the week is a failure – far from it. It offered a programme of potentially interesting and useful sessions delivered by brands that have great experience and lessons to share. It’s not perfect, but the package is sincere and you have to respect an event that has run for 14 years without interruption.

We can’t help but feel though, that small business advice isn’t something that should be curated and delivered in a single week each year, particularly from the offices of large corporate companies. Good advice needs to be accessible to SME owners all over the country throughout the year.

Of course, there are various websites and forums available, some for free, some at a cost, all of varying quality and there’s no doubt that the FSB does a sterling job in guiding, advising and connecting its members. But we think that there’s a lack of free, impartial advice, easily accessible to the busy business owner.

At Ultimate Finance, we make sure that when our customers get in contact we do more than talk money. With specialist knowledge and years of experience under their belts, our customer advisors will work with you to find the very best solutions to meet your business need.

However, we’re only one company of many, many thousands. What could we do if we combine our efforts? What if we were able to pool our knowledge to create a culture of advice that was available to all small businesses whenever it was needed?